Drift
by Sobeitsaidhe
Summary: Updated and lengthened chapters one and two with new content, and combined some shorter chapters for easier reading. Read and review, please.
1. Beginnings

-Chapter 1-

To die, to sleep; to sleep: perchance to dream.  
Hamlet, Act 3 Scene 1

Shad gathered a few things after deciding to go and stay at the place his father had built, up on Snowpeak, on a whim when he was young. When you have as much assets as his father had gathered at the time, you end up doing things that most would consider strange. Despite this, his father had still passed on as an extremely wealthy man. As he packed, he recalled that the kook of a Castletown doctor had told him on his last visit that a stay in the desert would do wonders for his current condition, due to the dry air. Therefore, he had decided to do the exact opposite. He didn't exactly plan on living longer than he had to with his sickness.

Shad was a young man, of around five and a half feet in height, of a slightly smaller than average build. He wore his usual fare, a blazer and trousers reaching to his knees. He wore gingham socks, which for all their stylistic atrocities, were exceedingly comfortable. He wore well worn boots on his feet, slightly above ankle height, and a borderline laughably large, thin plum bowtie. A white short sleeve dress shirt rested beneath his blazer, and he wore gold rimmed, round glasses to aid in the sight of his dark blue eyes.

Some hirees had thankfully already moved the few larger items that he would need up to the structure - which was largely empty on the lower floor due to the fact that his father had never actually done anything with the property - with minimal complaining over the cold, which was most likely due to the large sums he'd paid them to do so. He allowed himself one last glimpse of his childhood home. He traveled from room to room, taking in the various photographs and paintings. He came to the banister of the stairway that led to his childhood room, and paused. Smoothing his hand over the well-worn rail, he took a closer look at the faded varnish that remained after generations of Garwoods.

While he was apparently lucky enough to have several siblings, or so he'd been told, their mannerisms towards him had been one of tolerance at best. His eldest sibling, a brother was currently a very respected lawyer for the Castle dignitaries, while his older sister had married a very well-to-do businessman from Terminia. Shad couldn't say that he disliked the man, or his siblings, but he wasn't very inclined towards any certain manner of feeling towards them. He stepped quietly up to his room. While the childhood furnishings had long been replaced by those befitting a man, there was the odd relic of the child remaining on shelves and in fairy tales on bookshelves. As he made his way around the room, he found himself stopping at his smallest work desk, one of the many things he'd left behind. He noticed that a small locket, in which he had placed a photo of himself and a person for whom he cared greatly, lay upon it's worn surface. It seemed to be begging him to retrieve it, and to carry it with him, and he nearly did. Drawing his hand away from the thing, he made his way down the stairs and out of the domain for what he planned to be the last time.

As he walked away towards his rented caravan to the base of the mountains of Hyrule, and a few days later, allowed himself the fleeting thought that perhaps he was leaving his troubles behind him in that old house. He found himself enjoying a small laugh over the thought as he trudged his way up the snow-covered mountain trail to the 'cabin', which was situated on a plateau midway up the mountain.

After about an hour or so, Shad found himself at the 'cabin'. The 'cabin' was an imposing structure, two-thirds the size of the peak mansion where Yeto the snow-beast and his wife dwelt. It exuded a warm feeling of home, despite its cool surroundings. Making his way up to the door, he admired the craftsmanship of the structure, especially the elaborate moldings around the door and tops of the windows. Letting himself in, he locked the door (situated in the middle of the structure) while brushing back his auburn hair so that he might better inspect the work of the hirees. His favorite armchair was close to the fireplace, which the helpers had been kind enough to start a fire in. It crackled merrily as he continued his observations. The well-used desk he reserved for his studies on the Oocca was placed against the far wall, perpendicular to the right side of the fireplace. A few feet away from the desk, on its right side was the entrance to what would have been the study. His father had decided to go without the traditional main hall that the majority of this type of structure contained by default.

Shad decided to forgo exploring the structure, despite his never having actually seen the place before. He'd only heard of it in snatched bits of conversation between adults as a child, in which relatives would inquire over his father's 'hulking mistake on Snowpeak'. His father had never taken his mother, himself and his siblings along to the place for the short respites he often took, due to his mother's frequently poor health. His dear mother...he did miss her often. His mother had been in her early 40's, his father in his 60's when they passed.

Shad was only 19. He had never been very close to his siblings, and his mother seemed to consider him her favorite, as he was the most like her out of his siblings - gentle in manner, while the others were like their father: more rash. He amended that thought; they were kind in their own way, just not as warm. As his older brothers had played war games, he had preferred to read on mythology and histories. He'd never been close enough to his sister to know what she enjoyed, as she had made it a point of ignoring him. Suddenly he realized that he'd drifted off into his thoughts when the sight of the mantel clock above the fire showed him that almost fifteen minutes had passed, and decided to lie down. Removing his plum colored coat, he placed it on the hanger on the left side of the door.

Not feeling up to making his way upstairs to one of the bedrooms, Shad made his way over to the armchair and allowed himself to fall heavily into its cushioned comfort. He carefully removed his circular glasses and placed them on a small table situated next to the chair. Finally gave himself permission to rest for the first time in what seemed like eons, he fell into a peaceful, dreamless sleep.

Ashei, for lack of anything better to do, had decided to go out. She was highly opposed to the idea of going to Telma's Bar in Hyrule Castletown; she was tired of constantly viewing the same backdrop to life. Thus, she planned to go and inspect Snowpeak. Ever since Link had defeated Ganondorf, the few creatures that had managed to escape the reach of the Master Sword had fled to the supposed safety of the mountains. Ashei was an adventurer of sorts in her own right. She had know the old adventurer, Auru, for as long as she had been alive – he was her godfather. Bring Auru's goddaughter had allowed her many perks, one of which being taught how to wield a sword. Ashei was not the frilly type of girl – while she enjoyed cute things, more practical wear was her forte. After several years of training with Auru, she had been able to go out adventuring on her own. This had been the way that the Resistance was formed in Telma's Bar. When Ganondorf's minion, Zant, had come into power, naturally the state of Hyrule was one of a nation plunged into darkness. With this, there resulted a large influx of monstrous minions that needed eradicating – and this was where the resistance came in. Shad aided in the research aspect, Telma the base, and Auru, Rusl and herself the swords. Now that the war against the darkness was over, there was nothing much to do in ways of adventuring aside from the eradication of the remnants. Ashei had not seen Shad in a long while, and she was worried about him. Since Shad had not been to the bar in many months, and his home abandoned, there was one thing left to check – the little spoken of mansion of his father. Packing a few necessities and her short sword, she figured that nothing was wrong with having a little fun. There were sure to be monsters on the way.

Ashei brushed back her dark hair after disposing of a few White Wolfos, which infested the mountain peaks. Every time one was destroyed, several more seemed to materialize. She had yet to find any Darknuts or Lizafols, the smartest of the Ganondorf's remaining creatures. After looking up from cleaning her short sword in the snow, she saw that the long abandoned Garwood mansion had the warm glow of light penetrating its windows. Thinking that perhaps some of Ganondorf's creatures had decided to hole up inside the structure as a reprieve from the bitter cold, Ashei made her way up to have a nice little meeting with them. Most of all, she hoped that it was Shad. While she and shad's interest differed rather greatly – he a scholar and she a fighter – they were still good friends, and it pained her to have seen him in clear discomfort. While Ashei could tell that he wasn't feeling his best, she believed it to be a direct result of Princess Zelda.

He had loved for the Princess for years. Shad's father was a well respected advisor to the royal family, and this had left the whole Garwood clan very well off with gifts of gratitude directed their way. People from all over the known world sought his father's advice – but shy Shad had remained in his room, with his studies. Shad's father had done small research on his own, but it was just a pastime to him, and not something to be pursued seriously. This had caused a large rift between the two relatives, but had allowed the boy to become a playmate for the Princess. Since there could naturally be no way for the princess to play with the young children outside the safety of North Castle, and Shad's father always being about the place a young Shad was always brought along. But that was not the place for Ashei's thoughts to dwell now. Despite how the woman had treated Shad, her place was to support him, and this was her plan as she trudged towards what could possibly be the location of her dearest friend.

As the light was nearly gone from the sky, she reached the building. Ashei took special care not to be seen from the windows. Her coat, which was likened to the appearance of Yeto and Yeta the snow beasts, was especially helpful in that aspect. Carefully peering into the window, she observed no monsters, but did happen to see an acquaintance of hers: Shad Garwood. Sighing in relief, Ashei made her way to the door, and after removing her hood proceeded to knock on the door.

At the sound of knocking, Shad shot up out of the armchair, and scanned the room, trying to discover the source of the noise. The fire, which had burned so brightly when he'd fallen asleep, had eaten itself down to mere cinders, but the light from the day outside Upon realizing that it was only someone at the door, he restored his glasses to his nose. Then he came to the realization that he was in the middle of nowhere, and that the chances of someone knocking on his door in such a remote location were slim to none. Therefore, Shad picked up the closest thing he could find - a bit of scrap wood - and made his way towards the door. Opening the door a minimal amount, to the extent of the chain, at the sound of another knock he peered out of the opening to see who it was. He gently fingered the small dagger at his side, in case he needed it. While it was usually assigned as a book marker, perhaps he could stun a beast with a blow from his lumbar and then stab it with the dagger, which had the image of an Oocca on its hilt.

"Who is it?" Ashei immediately recognized the voice drifting from the space between the door and the frame, and allowed herself a small smile. "You planning on keeping me out here all day, yeah? It's Ashei." She heard a muffled bang as Shad knocked something over or dropped it - he'd always been clumsy- as he gave an embarrassed "Oh!" and undid the chain on the door to allow her access to the rooms beyond. Ashei couldn't help but try to stifle a laugh at the ruffled expression he held as she came in.

"What's up?" she stated casually. Upon seeing Shad's rumpled hair, she pointed to it and stated with a slight tone of worry, "I didn't wake you up did I?"

"It's, all right", he replied, and with a quick look at the mantel clock added, "I've been asleep for too long anyway...It's almost nine now." He tossed a piece of wood to the wall near the door.

"Well I probably should've let you sleep.." "You didn't know, it's okay" Shad stated, and smiled in a quirky manner.

"You can't be angry with anyone can you?" she laughed. "Probably not. Too nice for my own good." was his reply as he held out his hand for the coat she'd removed, and hung it up next to his own plum-colored jacket. As Ashei looked around, Shad couldn't help but wonder how long he could hide his sickness from her.


	2. Discovery

-Chapter 2-

Ashei was of the same age as Shad, and was three inches shorter. While she was short, she did not allow that to overshadow her spirit in protecting the things she cared about. A silver like body armor protected here, while general black garments was her fare underneath it. Black bangs curled in an odd way over her forehead, shadowing her dark brown eyes. Since she was in the white snows of the mountains, the black makeup which usually helped her to find better camouflage among the fields was not something she had worn for the trip. She removed her warm, white overcoat, and hung it next to Shad's coat.

Shad gestured with his hand towards the other armchair near the fireplace, asking, "Sit down?" "Yes, thank you", was Ashei's reply. They both seated themselves in the armchairs. Shad sank heavily into his, his exhaustion doing all it could to get the best of him. Sighing quietly, he propped his elbow onto an arm of it, and his chin on his knuckles. The chair faced Ashei's, which sat a few feet away on the other side of the fire. Ashei placed a few more logs on the fire, after making her intentions known to Shad, who nodded his approval. A few uncomfortable shifts of Ashei in her own armchair a few moments later, Ashei broke the silence with an attempt of small talk.

"So this is your Dad's place, yeah? Not much of a cabin is it?" Mentally, Ashei gave herself a smack. _REALLY? That's what you ask after you haven't seen him in months. A sharp blade, that's what you are. _

Chuckling slightly, Shad replied, "No, quite the contrary, but that's what my father took it upon himself to call it. It's really more of a mansion."

"That it is." Attempting to regain control of her faltering conversational skills, Ashei attempted to question on a less obvious subject. Gathering some well hidden courage, something Ashei was not used to having to do, she managed to ask him something she'd been wondering for a while.

"What exactly have you been doing all this time? Especially here, of all places."

"Just...studying." "The Oocca?" "Yes, actually. With Ganon's creatures gone, It's much easier for me to reach my research locations." Ashei couldn't help but feel that he wasn't exactly telling her the whole truth, but decided to let it go by stating with a smile, "Link made things better for everyone then didn't he?" "I suppose so" was his halfhearted answer.

_ All except for me_, he bitterly amended. Shad had been infatuated with the Princess Zelda since they were children. Since Shad's father had been a nobleman, the King's advisor even, they had made frequent trips to North Castle, during which times he would always see the young heir to Hyrule. During each of the visits, his father would allow him to wander off within sight, during which time he and the princess would play together. He'd always thought her beautiful, exhibiting his affections by bringing her small things like flowers or the odd mythological books she enjoyed so thoroughly. However, she always seemed to be oblivious to his affections.

Now, his chances with her were an absolute zero, the reason for that being because of Link, the Hero of Twilight, as was his proper title. It wasn't that he hated Link, because he considered him to be his friends. Though being a man of few words, Link had been one of the very few people to take him seriously outside of the little Resistance group which gathered in Telma's Bar, a group that Ashei was a part of. It was that fact that since Zelda had witnessed Link destroy Ganondorf and loved him, and that they were now dating, and were engaged even. He couldn't help but having always thought of himself as quite useless. Experiences such as when the Resistance had helped Link, all he had been able to do was follow the others in. Most of the time he believed that the only reason Rusl, Auru, and Ashei had allowed him to join was because the had felt sorry for him. The only thing he was formidable in was in the reading of books, and he seriously doubted that he could defeat a Moblin through the power of a large vocabulary. To be honest, the only helpful thing he'd done was show Link the locations of the owl statues. He also hated that fact that the person he cared for could be so shallow in her reasons for loving Link when she'd only met him three times, and he'd exerted his entire being into his feelings for her. But he had given up on that distant hope three years ago.

He suddenly noticed that someone was calling his name. "Shad...Hello, anyone in there?" Startled, Shad looked up to see a very amused Ashei, her arms crossed over the edge of the armchair while facing him. Blushing softly, he let out a small "Dreadfully sorry, I didn't quite to hear what you said." She allowed him a small smile to show that there were no hard feelings, and, after weakly returning the gesture of a smile, he redirected his attention towards the crackling warmth of the fire. Ashei frowned, and decided that yes, Shad wasn't telling her the whole truth - she would find out what it was he was keeping from her.

Ashei had allowed the warmth of the fire to lull her to sleep, and awoke three hours later to the sight of an empty armchair next to her. She scanned the room, and still not seeing any sight of Shad, decided that he must just be in another room.

Upon seeing that it was 3 am, as judged by the nearby mantel clock, she heard that which sounded like a racking, painful coughing. Blearily, she pushed herself out of the armchair to search for the origin of the noise. She nearly tripped over what appeared to be a hastily pushed aside lantern, which she supposed had been on the small table next to Shad's armchair. Furnishings were not something she had been terribly inclined to notice, given her excitement in finally finding her friend. She furrowed her brow, wondering what could have given Shad reason to break it when she heard the coughing again.

Resuming her search, Ashei followed the sound of wet coughing to what she believed to be the door of the bathroom, tightly shut. As the sounds were now much louder outside the door, she determined the room beyond to be the source. "Shad?" she asked tentatively, knocking on the door.

With a wet washcloth over his mouth, Shad looked up at himself in the mirror. '_Oh goddesses'_, he thought in a panic, nearly losing his grip on it in the process. What the hell was he going to do now? "Are you all right?" Ashei's voice drifted through the door, much to his dismay. Doing his best to clean up any evidence of blood in the sink, and rinsing out the washcloth afterward, he slowly turned towards the door and tried to think of a decent excuse aside from the truth. Taking a moment to grip the edge of the sink, he took a few deep breaths to compose himself.

Shad opened the door to a worried Ashei. "What was going on in there?" "I just felt like I had something in my throat, that's all" he replied, twirling his tie nervously around his finger. It was something that he was wont to do when lying, and Ashei knew the gesture well enough. One eyebrow raised, she countered "Sounded like a _lot _of something to me." He averted his eyes and opened his mouth to reply, but found to his misfortune that his usually astute mind could think of nothing.

'_Damn'_, he thought, _'what am I going to do now?'_

Shad nervously twirled his tie around a finger as he tried to avoid facing her penetrating stare. He opened his mouth once again to say something, but to his dismay he was unable to do so. His pointed ears drooped a minuscule amount with dismay as he stared at his feet. Wetness he refused to call tears rolled down his face. He couldn't cry - his father would curse him from beyond the mortal coil for that. He had to be strong.

To bad that the definition of strong varies from person to person. "Hey.." he heard, and felt gentle hands on his shoulders. "Just tell me, alright? Take as long as you need." When he nodded in reply, Ashei gave him a comforting hug. Shad returned it, burying his face in her shoulder. As she rubbed his back, he managed to tell her, "I'm sick Ashei."

Slightly jolted by having heard him say her name, she replied, "How sick Shad?"

There was nothing but silence until she heard him say, very quietly, "I'm dying."


	3. Shadows Fall

-Chapter 3-

Silence hovered in the air, like a large dark cloak waiting to come down and suffocate Ashei.

"Shad...could you repeat that?" The aforementioned took a deep, slow breath before repeat those two awful words. "What is it?" she asked, anxiously. "I'm not positive on that, but the Castle Town doctor called it consumption..." "And you believe that old phony?" she inquired, gripping his vest. "Not really, which is why I went to see a Terminian doctor...she said the same thing."Looking crestfallen, Ashei said, "Is there anything I can do for you Shad?"

Her grip on his vest relaxed ever so slightly. "Well, they told me that the desert air would do wonders for my lungs." "Then why aren't you up there you bloody idiot?" Ashei exclaimed, shaking him slightly. He gently pushed her away from him, giving her a long look. His miserable expression wrenched at her.

"Don't tell me..." she said softly. Her unvocalized inquiry received conformation when he diverted his gaze to the wall behind her. "Goddesses damn her..." she muttered, clenching his vest again.

She looked up at him with an expression full of determination. "Well, you're going to be alright. We'll look around and find a cure. You'll be okay."

As she gave him a wide, reassuring smile that did not quite meet her eyes, he pulled her into a hug, deciding that he would not nurture that seed of doubt in her, no matter how accurate it actually was. He would try not to let her know just how bad it was.

_Let her be happy_, he thought, at _least for this little while. Please don't let her be around when my chapter in her life comes to an end. _

"Alright then" Ashei said, pulling away from him. "We'll go back to sleep, and in the morning we'll go and find your cure."

Shad smiled at her in reply before saying, "There are several bedrooms upstairs…one of them might have a bed that's already assembled."

After a brief search, they did come upon an assembled bed. To the joy of Ashei, the coverings were black, while the room held a generally gothic taste in terms of furnishings and color scheme. As Shad was about to leave the room, Ashei grabbed his arm.

"You thought that you were going back downstairs to your armchair, yeah?" Before he could confirm this, Ashei added, "Well, there's no way that I'm going to take the only bed in the house and leave you down there and uncomfortable."

As Ashei pulled back the covers, Shad removed his vest to reveal his white dress shirt – it was hot in there. He opened one of the windows a little and joined Ashei on the bed.

_Shad was in the castle gardens with Princess Zelda, which was where they usually were when they spent time together. Zelda would go out and look at the flowers, while Shad would bring a book and read to her. Today Shad had brought a European tragedy, where the hero was kept from his princess for so long that when he returned, she no longer recognized him – and she had married another. Strangely, it was on of the Princess's favorites._

_Shad hated it – but, he wanted her to be happy. As they came to the return of the hero, Shad stopped, placing the book beside him on the marble bench. Zelda looked up at him from her place in the grass, a gladiolas in her hand. _

"_Why did you stop?"Mustering up what courage he could, Shad took her hand._

"_Zelda, there's something I need to tell you." Exhibiting a confused expression, Zelda asked, "What is it?" just as Link came into the courtyard. Shad let go of her hand as she automatically got up to go over to him, giving him a large hug before kissing him._

Shad awoke with a jolt, burying his face in his hands and trying to make himself as small as possible. Beside him, Ashei turned over. "What's wrong?" When he answered with merely a shake of his head, she sat up and curled her arms around him. Somewhere in the mansion, she heard a clock chime four o'clock in the morning. Ashei had always thought him _slightly _attractive – or so she told herself – if a bit naive. But that didn't bother her, if anything it made him more endearing. Shad sighed. Like him, there was someone who loved but had the object of their affection direct their advances towards another. Shad laced his fingers between those of her left hand, and she gave her head a place to rest on his shoulder. After a few moments, Shad allowed himself to slide down into a more comfortable position on the bed, with Ashei following his lead. Both slipped into the awaiting hold of slumber, where no apparition of the troubling past could extend its strangling grip, with unspoken words passing between man and woman, happily accepted.

It was now late afternoon, and Ashei stretched as she greeted this new moment she and Shad would be able to share. Smiling happily at the thought, in a way which extended throughout her entire being, she turned to Shad, who was still asleep. Moving to lie on her side, she pressed her finger against his nose. He had forgotten to remove his circular glasses before going to bed, and his large bow tie had come undone during his sleepy movements in the night. Sliding the digit down his face, she used his chin as a springboard for it. When he did not respond, her playful expression changed to one of worry. After a light push on his chest produced no response, she pushed him harshly.

After a moment, he turned towards her with a groan. A look of expression graced her features before he let out an indignant "Oh, you asshole!" as she smacked his left bicep. "What?" he asked sleepily, "What did I do?" Giving him a hard look for a moment, she took in his expression. Softening, she whispered, "You wouldn't wake up." "Oh" he muttered in realization. Pushing himself up with a groan that became a slight cough, he extended his arms to her. She quickly took the invitation and held him tightly, her face buried in his chest. "It's alright. Now, let's go eat something, and then we'll go out and look, hmm?"

As she nodded in assent to the plan, he frowned with the burden of unrevealed knowledge. After a few bites of an elderly buck Ashei had taken down – stringy, initiating an odd flick-fight – they made their way to the desert, to converse with Auru.

True, Shad and Ashei had planned to go and see Auru. But first, they needed the proper supplies. It simply would no do for them to go to the desert with what they had worn on the frigid peaks of Hyrule – and there had been no need for Shad to pack light clothing on his trip to Snowpeak. It wasn't like he planned to go to Terminia beach afterward. Thus, the couple decided to return to their respective traditional homes, but together. Ashei did not trust Shad to return once he left her line of vision, which was well enough, seeing as that was exactly what he had planned to do.

First, they would go to Ashei's home. Ashei lived on the southern side of Castle Town, not to far from the market. She said that for some reason she felt uncomfortable without the sounds of other people nearby. First, she told Shad that she wished to take him to see an old friend on the way. So, as Shad wished that he could melt into the babbling of the Hyrule Market crowds, he allowed Ashei to lead him to the residence of her friend. After a while – the market was quite large, and Ashei told him that her friend had decided to live in a place set away from the noise of the crowds – Ashei grabbed his sleeve tightly. As he was about to inquire as to why she had done it, Shad took at look at his surroundings and saw that this was a familiar path.

"Ashei, don't!" "Now Shad, you haven't seen Telma or the rest of the Resistance in ages, and I'm sure that she's missed you just as much as I did. You know she thinks of you and me as her adopted children, even though she isn't that old. And hey, Rusl might even be there!"

They began going down the railed stairway to the Bar as Shad countered, "No, he must be in Ordon with his family! Surely he is spending time with the new baby?"

"He, unlike you Shad, takes the time to visit us, even though you had a good excuse" Ashei replied, tweaking his nose. "And by the way, since you don't know, Amy is a year old now…Amy is what they named her."

"My goodness…has it really been that long?"

Ashei stopped, looking at him for a moment as they both stood before the entrance to the Bar. "Yes Shad, it has… We've all been really worried about you, ya know? You have no idea how excited we got when we found out that your father had a mansion on Snowpeak, and that you might be there. We all love and care about you..Some of us more than others" she added softly. As Ashei opened the door and entered; Shad gave a melancholic frown before following her lead.

"Oh my…is that you honey?" Shad unconsciously braced himself as Telma came around the bar to give him a large hug. "Ashei, good job on finding him. Now Shad, come on over here and tell Rusl and me what you've been doing!"

So, Ashei had been right after all. Rusl was here. In the corner of the room near the wines, Shad could hear the postman muttering something about his order. Things didn't seem to have changed that much in the past year. As Telma dragged him further into the bar, Shad could see that Rusl was conversing quietly with his wife and son, while jostling his daughter on his knee, much to her delight. Shad knew Amy thanks to Ashei, and his wife's name was…Uli, he had met her when the members of Ordon had come for the children at Kakariko…but he couldn't really – Colin. The boy's name was Colin, and he wanted to be exactly like Link. The poor boy. He was knocked back into reality as he saw Colin's mouth move.

"Mr. Shad? Hello?" He managed a warm-yet-false smile as he replied, "Hello Colin, hove have things been with you? Taking care of the family I see, with that sword." Colin's hand unconsciously went for the practice sword attached to a sheath of sorts on his back. "Yup! Now I can do a really big spin attack without getting dizzy, and Dad thinks I'm ready to spar now!" Shad couldn't help but reflect the grin of Rusl at the boy's enthusiasm. Hopefully, the boy would never have the chance to use a real sword.

Shad noticed that the family was dressed quite finely for a mere visit to the bar. He took his usual seat at the table. "Rusl? Why is everyone so dressed up?" he asked, with what he hoped was a playful grin. Ashei quickly looked towards Rusl from her conversation with Uli and Telma to give him a warning look. Rusl looked quite uncomfortable for a moment.

"Well, Shad, er…" he tried to begin. "We're going to Link and Zelda's wedding Shad!

Colin broke in "Are you and Ashei going too?" Rusl didn't fail to catch Ashei's brief hopeless look as he turned quickly towards his son, and then back towards Shad, waiting for the reaction of the aforementioned.


	4. Idiot

-Chapter 4-

||"There's nothing you can ever say, nothing you could ever do. Still every night I fall, every night I scream your name. Every night I fall, every night my dream's the same."  
"Burn" – The Cure ||

Shad looked blank for a moment, his breathing light. His brow furrowed slightly as he appeared to think deeply.

"_Mr. Shad," one of the princess's servants, Lily said, "the Princess would like to see you," "Do you know what it's about?" he asked. Lily twirled her dress for a moment before giving him a playful smile – she had a crush on him and enjoyed bothering him- before replying, "Maybe. You'll have to see for yourself sir!" Be he could counter, little Lily scampered down the massive hallway. Shad allowed himself a small grin - Lily would cause some boy a lot of trouble when she got older._

_The little talk with Lily had improved Shad's previous mood, he went with springing steps to the Princess Zelda's reading room, which also happened to be her calling chambers. _

"_Your Highness?" he asked with a knock as he came to the door. "Shad? Come in! And how many times must I tell you, please call me Zelda. We have been friends for ages, we should not have to use such formalities." He weakly returned her beaming smile as he shut the door behind him. The room was set up like a study, with a table or two in the corner, and a few armchairs near a fireplace, now vacant._

"_Oh Shad, it's so wonderful!" the princess said, twirling in a small circle. "Do you notice anything different about me?" "Umm…" Shad managed, turning his attention to her speech. She was wearing a new dress, but he had a feeling that the dress wasn't what she wanted him to notice. "Do you.." he began, until he saw _it_. A humble ring, with an Ordon sapphire set in it. Giving his best false smile as he returned to his melancholic mood, he stated "He proposed!" "Yes! Isn't it wonderful?" She threw her arms around him for a moment, giving him a hug while saying "Please say that you'll come. it just wouldn't be the same without my best friend!" _Friend_, he thought. _Friend_. As he returned the hug, she added "Oh, I forgot, I have to go and help plan! I'll see you later Shad!" He tried to speak as she hurried past him, leaving him alone in the room. He slumped down near one of the many bookshelves in the center of the room, and finally allowed him to cry._

"Shad?" he heard Rusl ask. "Oh, yes" he replied, "That's simply wonderful. The perfect match, isn't it? The hero and the princess…" He smiled bitterly as Colin chimed in his agreement. Ashei put a hand on his shoulder in an attempt to comfort him, and he placed his own hand over it, gripping it gently in silent gratitude.

"Well," Uli said. "I believe that it was time we set out. We wouldn't want to be late." Uli patted his arm as the family went by, telling him that it was good to have seen him again. It sounded legitimate. In return, she received one of his weak smiles. he seemed to be doing that a lot lately. As they heard the door shut softly, Shad allowed himself to slump forward, and laid his head on the table without bothering to remove his glasses. Ashei gave him a gentle hug before going back to Telma's quarters for a nap.

Telma stared at him for a moment before leaning down towards his ear, whispering "Honey, as smart as you are, you act pretty stupid sometimes" before following Ashei.

||"Every night I fall, 'Scream' the animals scream." ||

Shad had a small glass of milk before him. When he had gotten it, it had been cold but now it was warm – very off-putting. Ashei had been asleep for about two hours, and he was now considering waking her up so they could get going. First they would have to get cool clothing, and then they would go to see Auru. When he entered Telma's quarters, he saw that Ashei was already awake. The two women were conversing lightly. Upon seeing him enter, they cut off their talk and Ashei started to leave. As Shad made to follow her, Telma told him, "Come back soon..and make sure that you're well."

"Ashei", Shad asked as their way towards her home, "did you tell her?"

"No Shad, I didn't. She's not stupid, she could tell." "Oh…" They came to the house – it was simply decorated, just as Shad had expected. It wasn't that he assumed she was poor, he just knew that Ashei wasn't the type of person to invest in pointless adornments. Ashei wasn't poor, but she wasn't very rich either. It seemed like mere seconds before Ashei had gathered up what she needed and begun making her way to the door. Since he could tell that something was wrong, in his own delayed way, he grabbed her shoulder.

"Ashei, why are you so angry?

"Because, Shad" she said as she turned to face him, "I feel exactly like you do at the moment" A confused look passed over his features before he caught her meaning. Giving her a genuine smile, he gave her a peck on the cheek before squeezing her hand. Then he took her bags, and led them towards his place of residence. He seemed to have a little more spring in his step as he went. With a momentary look of pleasant surprise, she reached up to touch her still-tingling skin before following him.

Once they finally got everything that was required, they had to find out how they would get to the Gerudo Mesa where Auru was rumored to be staying. By letter, Hyrule had discovered from Auru that a colony of the Gerudo still existed in a sheltered corner of the mesa. This would be the place they would aim for. Ashei had an idea of how to get there – but she had to think of how to word it first.

"Ya know, I heard that there's some guy named Fyer at Lake Hylia with a canon. He uses it to shoot people up and out of the lake to Fabi's Flight by Fowl, whatever that is… But anyway, I think that he shoots people to the desert as well. We could try that!" Shad gave her a look which clearly expressed his beliefs on such a thing. "Yes…or we could have the Zoras guide us down on the waterfall. I don't think that the cuccos could carry our things down from Fabi's place. "Hah! Yes. While everyone was wondering where you were Shad, a path was built that leads down into the Lake. Since it's one of Hyrule's biggest attractions, the monarchy decided that we would be able to generate more revenue if the visitors could actually get down to the Lake."

"Really? How wonderful. Let's take that then." So, the couple made their way down into Lake Hylia, and had plans to go to Fyer so they could be shot, luggage and all, into the Mesa. However, what caught their attention first was not Fyer's canon.

"Oh…my! It's the sky canon!" "Whut?" Ashei exclaimed as Shad hurried over to it. "It's the sky canon! But how did it get out here?..." Link could be the only explanation, he realized. But still…to be able to examine it without Link and that disturbing shadow around! Perhaps he could finally come a little closer to finding out what he wished to know of the Oocca…._Were they created before the Hylians? Were they the Hylians' distant ancestors?_ Frantically, he examined the canon for any type of writing, but much to his despair, there was nothing.

"Yo kids!" Fyer called, waving an arm in the air. "Be careful, that canon works you know." While Ashei took in Fyer's odd outfit – which disturbingly showed off his protruding gut – Shad renewed his search, this time looking for the firing mechanism. There was a large bar of sorts that ran along the back of the canon; Shad assumed that he could get into the canon by standing on it, but he was unable to pull himself onto it.

"Ashei" he said, "would you mind giving me a leg up? Let's see what this thing is on the end." "Alright…"

After a few minutes, they were able to get inside, with Ashei pushing him up onto the bar, and Shad pulling her up after him. As Shad pulled himself up into the canon, he exclaimed "My goodness, how large it is!"

Both persons could easily stand up inside of this strange canon. "Wow, what's this?" There was a sort of grate with a red circle in the center of it in the back area of the canon section they currently occupied. As he moved a hand to touch it, Ashei said "Shad, wait a second…" She did not want to find out what it did.

"Huh?" he asked, turning towards her as he pushed the button. Darkness engulfed them as the hatch of the canon fell shut.

"Nice goin' there genius" Ashei said, punching his unseen shoulder.

"Ow…" he vocalized as he rubbed the now tender flesh. "Calm down, I can get us out." Shad moved past her and tried to push open the hatch, but to no avail.

"Hmph." Shad couldn't see the expression on Ashei's face, but he was sure that it was one of non-amusement. He was about to apologize when suddenly a noise sounded around them.

"Um...Ashei?" "What's that noise?" The rumbling became even louder until it abruptly stopped."Oh shit" Shad eloquently managed, before they were both fired into the blue expanse of the sky, with mutual screaming.

Ashei was majorly pissed with Shad at the moment if you would pardon her crudeness. This was due to the fact that all of her things were now thousands of miles below her. Plus, she was soaking wet. When they had been fired into the air due to Shad's stupidity, they had landed in a pond of sorts – and while it wasn't deep, Ashei had ended up having to drag Shad to shore with her because he apparently couldn't swim. She had been very tempted to let him drown, the idiot. It didn't help that there were some very brisk winds blowing, even though they weren't that strong.

Once they had gotten to shore, Ashei left him panting on the ground as she took in her surroundings. There was a large building of sorts to her left, and straight ahead was a small building with a domed ceiling. It appeared to only contain one room. It seemed like it was a good place to start, she made her ways towards it, leaving Shad behind. "H-hey, wait for me Ashei!" he managed to gasp out, and followed her inside.

Ashei was...surprised…by what the building contained. It was a shop, yes, and there was nothing too out of the ordinary about that, but there was a very strange sort of music playing in the background, and there was a - thing - that appeared to be running it. Shad stumbled into the room, dropping a hand on her shoulder while trying to catch his breath. "Don't..be so..mad…We're alive aren't we?" He looked up at her to better get her reply, and saw that she was giving something a very odd look. Shad followed her gaze to see…

"My goodness - an Oocca!" The Oocca looked very unamused, and let out a short tirade in her language reflecting her opinion of Hylians. Shad balked slightly before replying to her tirade in a more gentle tone.

Ashei went outside to let Shad talk as much as he liked – she had the feeling that she wouldn't understand what was being said in the first place. As she stepped outside, she nearly tripped and fell. Looking around her feet she saw … another one of those creepy Oocca things. She tried to step around it, but it just kept following her. Giving an exasperated cry, Ashei, even though she was sure that it wouldn't understand her, asked it what it wanted.

"You are one of the Hero's friends, are you not? I am Ooccoo, and this little devil is my son, Ooccoo Jr. " The strange creature poked one of it's wings behind her and knocked what appeared to be a flying head from behind her. "Hi!" it said sheepishly. Ashei assumed that this was Junior. Ashei also decided that these things were creepy. "Hi." "So, you helped Link in his quest, yeah?" she asked, putting one hand on her hip and tilting slightly. "Indeed!" the Oocca replied. "And let me tell you about my perspective of things..."

Back inside the shop, Shad was trying to discover what his father had pursued his entire life, and his own in turn. "So," he asked breathlessly, "did your race create the Hylians, or did the Goddesses?"

"Goodness, of course we didn't." The creature, whose name was Ictsla, laughed slightly. "No fingers for those fine parts" she added with a grin, pointing out her wings. I suppose that we were made to take up permanent residence in the sky - to keep the clouds company." She winked. "I honestly don't know, but that seems like a good way of looking at it to me. What I mean is there are all of the animals on the ground, and all of the creatures that inhabit the sea. Birds can fly, of course, but they can't stay up here all the time. That's what we're here for. Perhaps we keep the Goddesses company as well from being so close to them." she finished.

"What an interesting way of looking at it...If you don't mind my asking, how did you manage to build this city? How does it stay afloat? It is truly marvelous."

"Yes, odd how we can build such a thing without hands, isn't it? I'm afraid I can't really explain how we built it to you, because it is far to complicated. However, the reason that we stay afloat is with magnets." the creature said, with a little bit of aloofness in her tone.

"Magnets?" Shad replied, looking slightly confused. "Yes. You know that the earth has a magnetic field, yes? Well, we have magnets of the base of the city which forces it up into the air. Quite clever of our ancestors, if I do say so myself."

"Quite!" Shad exclaimed excitedly, having had to close his mouth. It was mind numbing just to know that he was even in the presence of an oocca, much less speaking to it. His poor mind couldn't really handle a lot of coherent speech at the moment. "Well, it certainly has been wonderful speaking to you, but I believe that my companion and I should return to Hyrule. I don't believe it would be wise to breath such thin air for a long time for we Hylians." Shad stated, extending a hand to shake Ictsla's wing.

"True, true. Well, it has been nice talking to you Shad. Come and visit again sometime!" she replied, shaking his hand.

Shad happily stepped outside the shop to find a shivering Ashei, and let out a small yelp when the brisk winds reminded him of his wet clothing. Ashei was speaking to another Oocca, he saw, and she appeared to be freezing as well. They waved goodbye to each other, and so Shad went over to her. "Are you ready to leave, Ashei?" "Yes. I would love to get into some dry clothing, and go somewhere warm." So, they went over to the cannon with their things, and once they climbed in, they flew down into Lake Hylia, once again with cries of fright.

Now, they were back on their native soil. They grinned at each other for the knowledge they had gained, and went off to the Lake shrine to change out of their twice-soaked clothing into something warmer. Once she was dressed, Ashei turned to see Shad fumbling around with his tie. Apparently, it did not want to obey him. With a grin, she went over and tied it around his neck. Then, effectively dragging Shad past anything else that could draw his attention, Ashei took him to Fyer's cannon so that they could get to Auru. After another fit of yells, they and their things reached the Gerudo Mesa, with the only damage being a bit of sand in their hair.

Brushing the sand out of his hair, Shad stood up while lending Ashei a hand. Looking around, they both wondered where they were to go next. "Well, Auru is staying with a hidden group of the surviving Gerudo, or said he said in his letter. They are supposed to encamped near the ruins in front of the temple, where the Bublins were recently… Yeah." "Do you think there might still be some Bublins left? They do travel around a lot, and after Link left they might have decided that since Ganondorf is gone, they wouldn't be thought of as a threat. They might have resettled, is what I'm trying to say." Ashei closed her mouth – she had been abut to tell him to get on with it already. She loved him, yes, but boy did it take him a while to get to the point.

Having landed in the desert, Shad and Ashei needed to find Auru and the Gerudo settlement. They searched the sands for their belongings, and as Shad pushed his glasses a little bit further up his nose, they made their way across the Gerudo Mesa. The mesa was named for the large amount of the Gerudo race which had previously lived in the area. The Gerudo had broken off the main group when Hyrule had first been settled so many years ago. Once, a Waterfall had run beside it, and the chasm from its path was the only evidence of it that remained. A temple to the Spirit Sage Nabooru's had also resided there, which was now the location of the place where Link had fought the giant Stalfos.

They crossed the desert for several hours until they had to find shelter for the night. The desert had become seemingly larger without the original Gerudo settlement at the entrance, even though it had only expanded by a little due to the erosion of the mountains around it. The air became colder as the sun sank further don, and they began scouring the edges of the desert for caves to provide them shelter. Just as the last bit of light was disappearing, they saw a small cave that would be sufficient for their needs. So, they made their way over to it. They gave the cave a quick run through for safety before putting down their things and starting a fire. After eating a small meal, they went to sleep.

Ashei awoke to growling. As she opened her eyes, she saw Shad, with his back to her, facing off against something. Taking her weapon and jumping to her feet, she turned to see another Wolfos. Apparently, they had trespassed on the creature's land, despite the fact that their had been no sign that it was inhabited. Ashei quickly stabbed the creature as it lunged for her, causing it to crumple in a heap. She turned in Shad's direction to see him dispose of the other Wolfos.

Shad realized he couldn't see, so he felt around the sands for his glasses, and heard an awful crunch. Moving his knee to the left, he felt his glasses under his hands to see what he'd heard. He felt his glasses, now with a cracked right lens. "Oh, dammit!" he exclaimed, doing his best to blow the bits of sand off of his lenses. He knew that if he rubbed them off, they would do further damage to his glasses by putting deep scratches in them. Pulling himself up off the ground he carefully bent the frames back into shape.

"Shad, are you okay?" Shad adjusted his glasses on the bridge of his nose and slowly drew his hands away from his face, as though afraid that his glasses would fall to pieces if he moved too quickly.

"Yeah. I think they should be okay until we get to the settlement." His vision was slightly distorted in his right eye due to the crack in the lens, but it wouldn't cause him any long term damage in the time it would take the to reach the settlement. They were slightly off center, but that would have to do. Ashei noticed that he was holding onto his chest.

"Are you alright?" "Yeah, I'm just a little winded. I'll be okay". Ashei decided to just leave him alone and let him cope while she prepared the Wolfos meat – there was no sense in letting it go to waste when they were low on supplies. They might be able to trade the skins for something useful once they reached he Gerudo settlement. After having dinner, they once again made their way towards the settlement, Shad's glasses clinging to existence around his ears. Every so often he had to reach up and readjust them so he could see, but he consoled himself with the fact that he could most likely get them repaired at their destination. The thought of this was enough to make him start humming a Hylian song form his childhood, much to the amusement of Ashei. Deciding to let him be, she re-adjusted her pack and followed him further up the path.

Eventually, they came to a semi-clearing, partially hidden by heavy brush. Gently pushing it aside. Shad poked his head through, looking around quickly before telling Ashei that the coast was clear. Unfortunately, the next thing Shad saw was a large furry thing on top of him and the spear of a guard pointed at his face.


	5. Steady Progression

-Chapter 5-

A large dog sat atop Shad's chest, causing him to cough profusely. Shoving the dog off and standing slowly due to the spear pointed at his throat, Shad turned to see that Shad was in a similar position. One of the guards called what he assumed to be the creatures name, followed by a command., Bejor [Bey-jour], as the dog was called, wandered lazily over to his master, when he sat on his haunches, panting heavily. The 'dog' was actually a domesticated Wolfos.

"Please pardon us", Ashei stated. "We mean you no harm".

"State your business", the taller guard replied, looking coldly at both of them. Carefully reaching into the side of his bag, Shad pulled out the letter that Auru had given them. Bejor idled over to sniff cautiously at the newly produced item, before giving it a derisive snort. The shorter guard followed and retrieved it. Taking a moment to glance suspiciously at Shad and Ashei, she read the letter. A small smile made it's way across her face as she recognized the handwriting. "Anina", she directed to the taller woman, "it's from Auru!"

Lowering her spear, Anina beamed at her friend. "What does it say" Reading it, the shorter guard, Brenea's, expression slowly became that of worry.

Brenea spoke directly to Shad and Ashei, saying "It is indeed dire circumstances that bring you before us, Shad Garwood and Ashei Marlston. We will do our best to help you, though there can be no guarantees. You should also get those glasses taken care of, and the risk of sounding a bit too obvious. Anina, would you mind attending to Ashei while I take care of Shad?"

"No problem", her friend replied with a smile.

"Thank you", Ashei stated, following Anina when she beckoned.

"Come Bejor!" she called, and with that they moved deeper into the city. As they all entered, Shad and Ashei were presented with a charming adobe village, a paradise of sorts within the harsh mesa. There was even a fountain in the middle of the village. Taking in the views, Shad was directed one way while Ashei was taken in another.

Shad carefully took in all that he saw, dong his best to commit every scene to memory. The city was nothing short of a marvel to Shad, and reminded him very much of Castle Town despite its location. Noticing Shad's expression, Anina jokingly stated, "Surely you did not think that isolation would hamper progress Mr. Garwood?" Shad sheepishly closed his open mouth.

After a few more moments of walking, the two guards split ways, with Brenea leading Ashei to the western part of the town, and Anina leading Shad towards the eastern horizon. Judging by what they had traveled through thus far, Shad deemed that the Gerudo settlement was at least twice the size of Castle Town, which was already formidable enough. As they traversed the landscapes, Shad was not surprised to see the makings of everyday life in Hyrule, and any legend about them was thoroughly smashed as he noticed several young boys playing tag between the shops.

Giggling happily, they rushed past and brushed the two with quick apologies as they continued their game. Taking in more of the scenery, Shad noticed that Anina had stopped in front of what appeared o be an optometrist. Grinning widely, he followed her into the building.

Brenea had led Ashei to a very cozy inn, and they were currently conversing upon the subject of all of Shad an Ashei's previous adventures. Each aspect of Ashei's soliloquy was met with the appropriate responses of excitement and sadness, respectively. Once she finished her tale, Brenea calmly cleared her throat.

"I honestly do not believe that there can be a definitive cure for your companion. However, deep within our desert temple, where the sage Nabooru was once said to have lived, is said to grow a wild herb which can cure any ailment. As no one has dared to venture into those areas of the temple in quite a few centuries, it may or may not be true. Those rooms are quite dangerous and in utter disrepair. There is no telling what sort of creatures dwell there, whether they be former followers of Ganon or no. The layers of dust which reside there will surely not be kind to your friend's lungs."

Nodding slowly, Ashei absorbed all that she had heard. "However, " the Gerudo continued, "I believe that the two of you show now focus on rest and the acquiring of provisions before proceeding any further.

Shad looked curiously at the odd contraption before him. "Now, you say that this machine will help to make the prescription for my lenses?"

"Indeed sir", replied the young but distinguished optometrist. "I shall be very surprised if you are not satisfied with your results." Shad carefully climbed into the seat of this strange device and stared ahead through what he assumed to be a variety of lenses. Occasionally, his young companion would change the lens that he was looking through and ask if the change aided or impeded Shad's vision. After a surprisingly short time of this, the man excused himself to a back room, presumably to work out the needs on Shad's glasses. Returning rather promptly, he handed the perfectly repaired frames of Shad's glasses, with the new lenses inserted into them. Shad was surprised to see what he would have eagerly said to be much better than 20/20 vision, if it were indeed possible.

"This machine of yours is truly marvelous", Shad complimented. "Have you ever considered sending one to Hyrule?"

"Well, we have had a machine sent to Terminia and the surrounding areas with some success. While terms are rather tentative with our ties to Hyrule, perhaps it is time to attempt reconnection. There is a woman in my study who wishes to one day work in Hyrule, so perhaps she will be the one you see the next time you are in need of optometrist assistance. Though, unless there is anything else you need?" the man trailed. "No thank you, this has been, though rather succinct, a marvelous visit. I hope to see you again someday. How much will the fee be for the repairs and the exam?"

With a sly grin, the doctor replied "For you my new friend, and friend of Auru, not a single rupee. May these lenses last you long – but not too long" he stated with a smirk. With a cheerful handshake, they parted ways. Upon seeing Shad exit the shop, Anina joked "See? Not so behind after all."

That night, Shad and Ashei shared their respective experiences for the day. "As Breanea says," mentioned Ashei, "it hasn't been disturbed for ages yeah? So I don't see why it shouldn't be there, if its growing conditions are the same." Shad agreed with the sentiment. With the whole day now behind them, they lay next to each other in the single bed, letting the comfort of each others company calm themselves into sleep.

Somehow in the night, Shad had managed to end up on the floor. Normally that would have bothered him a good bit, but since he remembered that he was in the desert, and that the floor was warm, he was less inclined to worry too much. However, as he heard a slight rustling from above him to his left, he became rather worried.

"Oof". The bundle of blankets that was Ashei joined Shad on the floor, and had decided that lying on top of him was not a good idea almost instantly after it happened. Rolling off of him, she inquired. "Are you okay?" "Kinda" Shad replied in a muffled voice. Thankfully, he had been propped up on his arms, ready to get up. That had most likely been the only thing keeping the air in his lungs from making a mad dash to escape.

Reaching over to brush the hair from his eyes as she turned to face him, Ashei smiled softly. Shad reached behind him to get his glasses off of the small set of drawers that were underneath the bed they had shared. Putting them on and returning his attention to Ashei, he returned her smile. Shifting once more so that he was lying on his back, He opened an arm to Ashei, who curled closer to him and placed a hand on his cheek. Pulling the blanket over them, Shad pulled Ashei closer. Both decided that it was a rather good idea to sleep until noon.

Back in the main part of Hyrule, looking over Castle Town, one couple could not afford to sleep until noon. Having to rise early into the day, they were delaying their rise for a few more moments of relative comfort, compared to dealing with snotty nobles. Thankfully, the magistrate, and ultimately, Captain Viscen, would deal with the disputes between peasants, leaving the King and Queen to more diplomatic matters.

While Link may have become King, a few months of marriage had done nothing in the way of helping him to learn the various needs to which he had to attend throughout the day. Being a more outdoor type, it was taking him much longer than others to have to adjust to indoor work, and the filing of various papers. Thankfully, Queen Zelda was there to help him learn.

"Link?" Zelda whispered.

"Yes?"

"What do you think happened to Shad?" Staring into the darkness of the canopy above them, Link thought for a moment. "I didn't see him at the wedding" Zelda continued. "I thought for sure that he would be there. I hadn't seen him in a few years when I sent the invitation, so I guess that I thought he might... But maybe he had other things to do. After all, how could he not hear about our wedding even if he didn't get the invitation?"

"He must have just been busy" Link responded in a worn manner. " He must have wanted to be there though. You guys are best friends right?"

"Yes, we are" she replied with a smile. Giving him a small hug and a peck on the cheek, Zelda began to get ready for another day of court duties. Quietly, Link thought about Shad's current status. He had always thought him to be rather likeable, if not naively eager. He knew that since Shad and Zelda had been so close, there could have only been one reason as to why he had not attended their wedding – and he could not help but feel poorly about it.

Rather than sleep until noon, as the plan had previously been, Shad and Ashei decided to get up around ten. Extricating themselves from their self-constructed cocoon of blankets, they gathered their things and trudged their way downstairs towards coffee and breakfast. After a quick chat with Brenea and Anina – with whom the couple had become good friends – and a gathering of provisions, they made their way out into the deeper wilds of the desert.

Bejor had followed after them for a short while, barking happily and playfully nipping their heels, before inevitably deciding that humans were boring. Trotting back towards the city, he gave a derisive snort. Half an hour later, the pair came upon their destination. The desert air whistled menacingly between the time-weathered stones of the ancient temple, the most terrible coming from the entrance. While it may have once been an imposing structure once without the need for the passage of time, for all its grandeur, it was most certainly not at its best. One thing that had aided them in their trek towards it had been the landmarks that were somehow left over from the age of the hero of Time. Naturally, things like the flagpoles no longer existed, but the large stone slab from which he had followed the spirit still remained. Though the cave beneath it had long ago been filled in by the desert sands, it did provide a brief respite from the biting winds, and gave Shad a chance to catch his breath. Though she would not like to admit it, Ashei was having just as much trouble, despite the fact that she was healthy. Sands or no, the greatest ting to be thankful for was that the sea of quicksand no longer existed.

They carefully entered the temple. It would do no good to die from a poisonous spider or a scorpion sting after coming so far. Sighing softly, Shad slumped into a corner of the entrance hall, coughing slightly with the effort. The sands, which billowed up with every step, seemed to be doing their best to invade Shad's lungs., even though the dry air did help a little.

Sitting slowly beside him, Ashei brought an arm over his shoulders. "I'm worried about you ya know" she whispered. "I don't want anything worse than this to happen to you."

"I know" Shad replied weakly. "I hope you never have to deal with anything like this." Closing his eyes, he leaned over slightly so that his head was resting on her shoulder. In response, she turned and wrapped her other arm around him. Shad had clearly not taken the trip to the temple very well. True the landmarks had provided them with some shelter, but the sands could never be inescapable. Ashei was truly worried for his safety. While it may have been true that the herb they sought could heal him, she could not help but wonder if the search for this herb would kill him sooner than his actual sickness.

Blearily opening his eyes, Shad looked around to be reminded of his surroundings. The majority of the sands had piled themselves in the furthest corner of the room, whether it be by natural causes or Ashei's attempt at a smaller amount of irritants. Bit useless, really, but thoughtful of her. Stretching, he repositioned his glasses before turning to Ashei.

"Hey, time to wake up." She awoke in a manner similar to his own, and gave him a sort of death glare. "Well, if you were doing your job and had woken me up, you wouldn't have had to wake up so early. " He stuck out his tongue in an uncharacteristic manner. Taking a playful swat at him, which he dodged, Ashei stood up to be met with the sound of her joints popping. Temple floor was not exactly the kindest of beds. Offering her hand to Shad, she helped him up as well.

Surveying their surroundings, she saw that things would be surprisingly smooth to begin with. Before them stood a large expanse, of what had most likely been an arbor or gardens at one point. The remains of a glassed roof lay around the expanse in small piles, partially covered by the desert sands. The odd stone furnishings also made their appearances, in various stages of crumbling decay. The room was about fifteen feet in height, twelve yards in length, and eight yards across. They were standing in the corner closest to the aperture which used to represent the entrance to the area. Gathering up and shaking out what they could of the sand invading their bedrolls, the two packed up camp with little conversation.

Shad took it upon himself to lead the way, small remnants of a map given to them by Auru in hand. The ragged thing provided a good bit of insight to the historical layout of the place, but did not seem to be of much service in comparison to the ruins of their time. Surprisingly, Shad seemed to be able to make sense of it. "I believe that in relation to this map, and a general assumption on my part, there should be some sort of medicinal area in the ruins. For there to be a gardens, there must have been a sort of living area located within the temple, correct? And if there are people living in the temple, these people are bound to get sick at one point or another, resulting in the need for such a place." "And maybe they even traded some of their medicines to travelers, yeah? It would make sense for them to get things they couldn't get in any other way from trade routes, and vise versa." "Exactly, Ashei" Shad approved.

Trudging onward, they came to a large gap not represented in the map. With a furrowed brow, Ashei shook a bit of sand off of her clothing and made her way to the edge. "So, what way do you think we should go?" Ashei queried. "There's a hallway over that gap there, but it's a bit had to see over there. Then we have this way off to our left here too, ya know." Shad rubbed wearily at the temples, careful not to let go of their map. If they lost it, they would essentially be trapped in the ruins, with no way to find their way back out. Ashei carefully snagged the map from Shad to have a look at it as well. "Now, which way does it go?" Shad reached over her shoulder to correct the alignment of the map – she'd had it upside down.

The dim light of their lanterns seemed to penetrate little of the darkness, and the odd shaft of light appearing through the roof hardly reached the sand drenched floors. Holding his lantern up in a way that would better illuminate the map, Ashei sat hers on the ground to show the path.

"From the way these lines are represented, it would seem that a sort of apothecary would be in this area, or maybe a library." Shad helpfully mentioned.

"Yeah, those do look like shelves of some sort. But then there's this smaller room off to the left here, it could be the apothecary. They did have trades, but if there was a library, it would probably be the larger room, yeah?"

Shad pondered this for a moment. "That's true, but there would be a need for a larger room if they were going to trade supplies. They would need the space for the tables to trade on. Also, even if they did have a library, all of the tomes would have to be copied by hand, so I don't believe that it would be very large." They both thought for a moment, trying to decide which way to go.

"Well," Ashei said, "the smaller room is on our left, and the larger one is across this hall. I think we should go ahead and check the smaller one since it's more easily accessible. We've been walking around for several hours, so it would give us the chance to rest as well. Maybe we can find something to get us across too." "That sounds like a good idea. Let's do it, as you would say." Shad smirked at his own comment, before lifting Ashei's lantern from the floor and handing it to her, retrieving the map. Ashei snorted, following him anyway.

After traveling for around ten minutes, they happened upon the remains of double doors. The map indicated that this would be their location. As Shad was about to open the door in a relieved manner, Ashei put out a hand to motion for him to wait. Pointing to the soft light coming from beneath the door that had nothing to do with their lanterns, Shad got the idea. Taking a step back, he allowed Ashei to get closer to the door. Pulling out one of her knives, she angled it so that she could see into the room. There were indeed shelve lining the walls, with crumbling remains of parchment rolls. Remains of old chairs lay on their sides, while the shelves seemed to have collapsed in some areas, reducing the knowledge on them into dust. There, in the center of the room, were the remains of a fire. Probably treasure hunters – they hadn't been around in a long time. Turning her knife slightly, she saw that there was a hole in the wall, letting in the light from the sun outside. It was not very large, but was angled in such a way that it would produce the light she had seen under the door. Breathing a sigh of relief, she voiced her findings to Shad.

"It's all clear" she said, pushing one of the doors open with a bit of effort.

The hinges – what was left of them – had rusted a bit from years of disuse. Entering, Shad gravitated towards the remains of the data on the shelves while Ashei set up an area for them to rest. He'd tried to hide it, but he had been looking a lot paler lately and had been trying to release surreptitious coughs here and there. Hopefully they would find the place soon. Ashei tried to keep watch, but several nights of doing so had made her rather thinly strung, and she slipped off into sleep within the hour. Shad noticed her fall asleep, and smiled softly at her. Finishing up what she had started with the fire, he pulled her blanket over her, and pulled his roll near hers. Settling down, he directed his attention towards the door. In her sleep, Ashei's hand snaked over to hold his, and after a few stirrings, she fell asleep again. With that, Shad prepared to give her a full eight hours before napping himself.


End file.
